Wildfire burns nearly 7 acres near Parkway

Published: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 8:23 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 8:23 p.m.

A spark from construction work on a home in Buncombe County Wednesday afternoon grew into a wildfire that torched 6.8 acres of land near the Blue Ridge Parkway, investigators say.

Seven crews battled flames that raced up the side of a mountain on Webb Cove Road in the Reems Creek Fire District around 2 p.m. The flames were mostly extinguished by 8:30 p.m. and crews returned Thursday morning to "mop up" the hot spots, according to District 1 Ranger David Walker of the N.C. Forest Service.

Firefighters arrived at about 2:15 p.m. The fire "spread pretty fast because it was going up the slope," Walker said. A development road in the path of the fire "slowed it down a while."

A pilot in a scout plane spotted about five homes that could be threatened by the blaze, but the fire was stopped before it reached them, he said. Firefighters used a Forest Service bulldozer to carve out containment lines.

Firefighters from departments in Swannanoa, Reems Creek, Beaverdam, Asheville, Reynolds and the Forest Service and young inmates trained in fire suppression through the N.C. Forest Service BRIDGE program battled the blaze on foot.

<p>A spark from construction work on a home in Buncombe County Wednesday afternoon grew into a wildfire that torched 6.8 acres of land near the Blue Ridge Parkway, investigators say.</p><p>Seven crews battled flames that raced up the side of a mountain on Webb Cove Road in the Reems Creek Fire District around 2 p.m. The flames were mostly extinguished by 8:30 p.m. and crews returned Thursday morning to "mop up" the hot spots, according to District 1 Ranger David Walker of the N.C. Forest Service.</p><p>Firefighters arrived at about 2:15 p.m. The fire "spread pretty fast because it was going up the slope," Walker said. A development road in the path of the fire "slowed it down a while."</p><p>A pilot in a scout plane spotted about five homes that could be threatened by the blaze, but the fire was stopped before it reached them, he said. Firefighters used a Forest Service bulldozer to carve out containment lines. </p><p>Firefighters from departments in Swannanoa, Reems Creek, Beaverdam, Asheville, Reynolds and the Forest Service and young inmates trained in fire suppression through the N.C. Forest Service BRIDGE program battled the blaze on foot.</p>